For the past 50-odd years, all Hornby Railways products have been assigned a product code starting with R. The...
Cart 0 Product Products (empty)
No products
Free shipping! Shipping
£ 0.00 Total
Product successfully added to your shopping cart
Quantity
Total
There are 0 items in your cart. There is 1 item in your cart.
Total products (tax incl.)
Total shipping (tax excl.) Free shipping!
Total (tax incl.)
Search Tips
Tips categories
Latest Tips
-
Why Hornby product codes start with R?Read more -
What is meant by 'Bringing life to your layout or scene'?Read moreOften, railway modellers talk about the importance of bringing their scene to life, but what does this mean? and why...
-
What different types of hand drills are there?Read moreThere are three main types of hand drills used in modelling, all with quite amusing or non-descriptive names...
-
What are the common mistakes to avoid when building a model kit?Read more(Cue nostalgic music...) I vividly remember the excitement and nervousness of opening up my first model kit many...
-
What is Tri-ang Series 3 track?Read moreThe Tri-ang Series 3 Track refers to a type of model railway track produced by the Tri-ang Railways company. Tri-ang...
What is the difference between modern image and present day?
'Modern Image' is a term used by many modellers to describe a layout that portrays modern times, for most this will cover the post steam era from the late 1950s and early 60s onwards, but hang on a minute, that was over 60 years ago! can we really refer to an era so long ago as modern image?
This is where a lot of confusion lies, when the term 'modern image' was first used, the period it referred to was modern and everything made sense, now though, the term means different things to different people depending on whether they are lucky enough to remember the days of steam or were born in a time when all trains were blue.
Manufacturers have tackled this problem to some degree by using their 'era system' to split up the diesel era into descriptive categories with names like privatisation, franchising and sectorisation which unmistakably refer to specific periods within railway history, however, history is somewhat repeating itself as the latest categories are referred to as 'present day' or 'current day operations' both referring to the period 2014 onwards and are getting less present and current with every year that passes.
So to summarise, 'modern image' is no longer that modern, and 'present day' is a lot more modern but as time passes also refers to a period nearly a decade ago. You can be forgiven for being a little confused by this, but maybe we should also forgive the poor souls tasked with inventing new names for new eras, after all, what else can you call an up to date era that is recognisable through the notable twists and turns that railway history takes - when they haven't happened yet!
Posted in: Model Railway
Click here to receive the tips weekly in your mailbox. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Related products
Modern Station Kit
Price: £ 12.25A plastic kit of a modern station building with glazed façade, by Gaugemaster...
Related posts
-
What scale is Hornby?Hornby model railways are OO Scale or 1/76th that is 4 millimetres to the foot (12 inches). It runs on a track with... - How to weight my model so it does not tip?For wargaming figures, a small coin or washer glued to the under side of the base will usually to do the job. This...
- Is Bachmann compatible with Hornby?Yes, any OO scale loco, wagon or coach will work on any OO scale track, regardless of brand. Couplings are also...
- What are the model railway eras?According to Bachmann, as it states in their catalogue there are 9 eras. As they say in their catalogue this is not...
- Can a "DCC ready" train be used on analogue?Yes, you can use a DCC ready train on your analogue layout. DCC ready just means that the train has been factory...